Outstanding Business
by Caitiy
Summary: Sakura decides that it’s time Kakashi paid more attention to his to-do list.


Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the characters contained therein, they belong to Masashi Kishimoto who is kind enough to let fans write fiction. I make no profit from this nor do I intend to.

A/N: This was written for Zelha who posed an 'abduction fantasy' prompt to The Kakashi X Sakura FC on Naruto Forums which promptly took on a life of its own and turned into an exchange of sorts.

Many thanks to Clearheart for giving this a first read and offering honest opinions and to my beta Mystical Spirits! I'd never have posted without your help!

~*~*~*~

Outstanding Business

Kakashi heaved a sigh of relief as the last group of shinobi left his office. It'd been a long and tedious meeting, and he was exhausted. He absently mused that waiting up the previous evening for Sakura to return from the swing shift might have been a bad idea, especially since there had been an emergency at the end of her shift. And she'd been kept at the hospital until the wee hours of the morning, which, of course, put her in a foul mood, ruining his plans for what was left of the night. Consequently, his evening activities, or rather lack thereof, made his barely-tolerable, early, mandatory morning meeting an absolute miserable experience.

Yawning and stretching, he rose from his desk, leaving the messy papers in place, and shuffled slowly into his attached private living quarters with thoughts of taking a quick nap and making another attempt to catch Sakura after work. To his Icha Icha-addled mind, it had been too long since the last time they had been able to spend any quality time together.

Already half-asleep, he allowed his feet to guide him to his bed, pausing only long enough to remove the bulkier items of his clothing, leaving him in his usual standard-issue jonin pants and baggy long-sleeved shirt with his skintight dark undershirt, attached mask, and the band of leather he'd taken to wearing to conceal his Sharingan. Sighing in relief, he allowed himself to fall into the surprisingly comfortable bed. Within minutes he was asleep and well on his way to pleasant dreams.

~*~*~*~

Kakashi woke in an instant upon sensing the intruding chakra signature but prevented himself from reacting. Recognizing the culprit, he feigned continued slumber, wondering what Sakura would do upon finding him apparently asleep in his bed.

Curious, he kept still as he sensed her approach. Kakashi waited to see if she would join him in bed and reenact page seventy-four of Icha Icha Tactics – in his mind, a very pleasant way to be woken up and one he'd secretly hoped she would utilize sometime. After a moment, he realized that if she did decide to use it, it wouldn't be just then. A part of him wanted to open his eye to see her expression so he could have a better sense of her intentions, but a larger part of him enjoyed the anticipation of wondering just what she would do.

While he was waiting for her to make a move, he felt himself slowly start to slide back into the world of dreams. Too late, he realized she'd slipped some of her chakra into his system without his noticing and was using it to send him back to sleep. With a sigh, Kakashi fell into a deep slumber.

~*~*~*~

Kakashi groggily felt himself being pulled from sleep. He yawned and opened his eye, thinking that he should probably hurry over to Sakura's apartment in order to meet her after her shift at the hospital. The elite shinobi stiffened quickly upon realizing that he was not where he thought he was. Instead of lying in his bed in Hokage Tower, he was sitting in a – he had to admit – fairly comfortable chair.

He quickly took in his surroundings, trying to figure out where he was and why. After a moment's study, he found he was in Sakura's living room, and he relaxed a little. Taking his time, he took stock of himself and was surprised to discover that his wrists were tied to the arms of the chair.

"Hmm…" the Copy Ninja tested the ties gingerly. "Kinky," he murmured with a smile, wondering just what Sakura had in mind for him. There was a particularly unique interrogation scene in Icha Icha Violence… Though, honestly, he would rather be taking on the role of the interrogator with her at his mercy. But he wasn't going to complain; Sakura in charge was always an enjoyable experience. And there was no reason they couldn't do it again another time, with the roles reversed.

As his mind was lost in a very pleasant daydream, Sakura sauntered into the room. Abruptly he focused his attention on the pink-haired woman and smirked as he ran his eye up her figure. She was indeed wearing the long dark coat that figured so prominently in that scene, and each step revealed a knee-high boot topped by a glimpse of bare leg. His day just got infinitely better.

The pink-haired woman stopped several steps in front of him. "Ah, you're awake." A slow smile spread across her face. "Good."

He opened his mouth to speak, but she raised a finger to silence him. Leisurely, she closed the gap between them and stopped again directly in front of his chair, a smug smile gracing her lips. Slowly the younger woman leaned forward, intentionally allowing the jacket to shift with her movement, giving Kakashi a very nice view. And, while his eyes were elsewhere, she stealthily brought one hand to his mask-covered cheek and caressed it gently, as her other hand brushed the leather strap he used to cover his Sharingan out of her way and onto the floor.

Sakura leaned back for a moment to study her Hokage, particularly his now strangely-lopsided hair, and murmured, almost to herself, "Hmm, uneven." Her lips quirked into a smile, and she slipped her hands through the Copy Ninja's partially-flattened hair a few times, subtly shaping it into a more pleasing, but still characteristically messy, style.

Sakura stepped back, cocked her head to the side, examining his profile and smiled. With the leather strap out of the way she could clearly see the excitement and anticipation in his eyes, and the faint tilt of his suggestive smile under his mask. Kakashi had no idea what she was really doing. Turning her head, she called, "He's all yours, Taka!" to someone in her kitchen.

His smile quickly melting into a confused frown, Kakashi strained to see what Sakura meant and, more importantly, to whom she was speaking. "Wha—?" he asked, suddenly feeling vulnerable even though he was fully dressed. A sneaking suspicion hit the Hokage and he frowned. "Sakura…" he growled upon realizing that she was up to something other than a bit of Icha Icha-inspired fun.

The elite jonin experimentally tested the ropes and found the knots to be both tight and strong, but not impossible to get out of for the person who had taught Sakura how to make them. He wasn't trapped – she was just making a point. Though what point he could only guess – there was a fairly long laundry list of things he'd ducked out on over the past month or two, most of which might warrant a fed-up kunoichi to resort to unusual measures. If she wanted him to guess what he'd done wrong, she was going to have to give him a little more information.

While he was contemplating the list of possible offenses, a stocky middle-aged man briskly bustled into the room. Quickly and efficiently, the man set-up an easel and sketch book with practiced ease before pulling out an assortment of pencils. Within moments, the artist was poised and ready to capture the reluctant Hokage's visage. Though, instead of starting to sketch, he waited, poised and ready – obviously waiting for the order to begin.

Sakura nodded curtly to the artist, and the cubby man started sketching quickly. Taka's eyes flicked back and forth between Kakashi and the page as his pencil and, occasionally, an eraser flew across the paper.

Confusion overriding his annoyance, he turned his gaze to his kunoichi, who was currently wearing a sour frown, and raised an eyebrow. "What's all this about?"

Sakura turned from both Kakashi and the artist to look out one of the windows. Because of her close relationship with the previous Hokage she had been granted (i.e. forced into accepting) an apartment close to Hokage Tower and the hospital. It also just happened to have an enviable view of Hokage Mountain.

Keeping her voice even, she asked, "Do you remember last fall when I had that inconveniently-scheduled string of graveyard shifts at the hospital?"

Beyond confused as to what Sakura's schedule from several months previous could possibly have to do with the artist, now on his fourth piece of paper and still busily sketching away from a new angle, Kakashi raised both eyebrows in inquiry. "Um, yes, I do believe I remember," he responded carefully. Her new schedule had shut him out of her bedroom for almost a month. He'd become almost unbearable to deal with and consequently became inseparable from his Icha Icha books.

She turned and refocused her attention on the Copy Ninja. "And, by chance, do you happen to remember when it ended?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, her voice still even and without any hint of emotion.

Though her tone was level, Kakashi knew he was walking a very fine line. But between what and what, aside from pissing her off more than she already was and placating her, he had no idea. "I believe your schedule changed shortly after I had all those tedious meetings with all the clan heads and the lords of Fire Country. You know, the ones I'd been avoiding…" He trailed off as he remembered just how that particular dry spell had ended and was momentarily distracted by the enjoyable memory.

Sakura watched his expression soften from agitation and slight confusion to one of pleasant remembrance as he clearly lost himself in his recollection. Annoyed, she cleared her throat trying to pull his attention back to the present.

Kakashi started, refocused his attention on Sakura, and made an aborted attempt to raise a hand to the back of his neck. A frown crossed his face briefly as he shot the ropes keeping him in the chair an annoyed look. He could easily get out of them, but suspected that things would go badly for him if he did.

The pink-haired medic sighed with exasperation – her former sensei was not making the all too obvious connection. And he was supposed to be a genius! "Have you noticed anything different about my schedule lately?"

Hastily searching his most recent memories, Kakashi could come up with nothing out of the ordinary. Granted, she had been working an awful lot of swing and graveyard shifts, but due to a recent shortage in medical staff, all medically-trained shinobi not on missions were automatically sent to help out at the hospital. Still, since she was one of the best medics on staff, she was in higher demand than the others and therefore had to rotate through the different shifts.

"Well…" he began, hoping he was right, or at the very least close enough so as not to piss her off even more, "you've been working a lot of nights lately, swing, graveyard, and first shifts… But recently Konoha's been short on medics so I would assume that everyone's probably had to work some of the less desirable shifts."

"Hmm…" Sakura nodded, conceding that the older man did have a point. "Okay, I can see that." She frowned. "But I suppose you haven't noticed how many doubles, back-to-back shifts, or _near_ back-to-back shifts I've been getting?"

His eyes widened briefly in surprise as he thought back on her most recent schedule. He could see that she was subtly being over-worked. Her schedule was technically acceptable if one looked at each day separately, but when he strung them all together… it left very little time off for his pink-haired medic. Confused again and starting to get angry at the people who made the hospital schedules, he frowned, wondering what Sakura had done recently that might have annoyed someone higher up on the food chain.

"Can you think of anything you might have been avoiding lately?" Her voice acquired a bit of an edge, and she once again turned from him to examine the view. "Anything at all?"

Drawing a blank, he slowly shook his head in a negative, not wanting to anger her any further. Clearly she'd been simmering over this for a while, and he'd been too preoccupied to notice – a mistake he was quickly realizing he would not make again.

"Nothing having to do with artists have been on your to-do list?" She turned from admiring the view of Hokage Mountain to face him and raised an eyebrow. "Really, nothing?"

The artist who had been working busily, trying very hard not to hear the strange semi-argument between the two shinobi, finally finished. Quickly and quietly he packed up all of his materials and slipped from the room, more than happy to finally be done. Now he would finally be able to draft the plans he needed to start the long-delayed public works project.

Comprehension finally dawned and he laughed nervously. "Eh-heh, oh, that."

She narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Yes, _that_." She gestured out the window at the village landmark which was missing its sixth component. "Hokage or no, do you have any idea how difficult it was to get Taka to come down here to sketch you?"

He shook his head in disbelief. The idea that Sakura would be pressured by the elders – via her schedule at the hospital – into forcing him to do his job seemed dirty and underhanded to him. He tried to smile and reassure her. "Sakura, I had no idea. If I'd known, I'd have done something about it."

She raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Oh really?"

"Of course!" he exclaimed with exasperation. "Do you really think I'd stand for someone, anyone, mistreating or using you like that?" He paused for her response. After a moment he realized it wasn't enough. "Believe me, first chance I get I'll be having a _discussion_ with the elders on the dangers of trying to get at me through those close to me. When I'm done, I doubt they will ever attempt such a stupid course of action again."

Sakura studied him for a moment, noted his sincerity, and nodded, finally letting her annoyance go. "Well, then, now it's settled." She paused as something occurred to her and narrowed her eyes. "That is, if there's nothing else you've been putting off?" Sakura cocked her head expectantly – she would accept no funny business from him on this.

"Eh-heh…well, you know, now that I think of it…" He made another aborted attempt to raise a hand and rub the back of his neck and settled for smiling sheepishly. "There was this one other thing…"

"Kakashi!" she growled, once again starting to get annoyed. She was not going to deal with the possibility of having her schedule mucked about just because Kakashi was a lazy pervert.

"Don't worry! I'll take care of it!" The elite shinobi quickly interjected before his kunoichi could build up a full head of steam.

She eyed him warily for a moment, unsure if she should really trust him. "I don't know…"

Aware that he was rapidly approaching dangerous territory, the Copy Ninja hastily continued. "I promise."

She shook her head, rejecting his unqualified assurance. "Swear on Icha Icha?"

He sighed, "Yes, I swear on my entire Icha Icha collection. I will take care of it."

She eyed him a little doubtfully but finally assented. "Okay."

Kakashi exhaled in relief. Rapidly switching gears, he raised an eyebrow suggestively. "Now that that's all taken care of, what do you say to having some fun?"

Sakura laughed, Kakashi would always be Kakashi, before turning serious. "Hmm… Well, I guess that depends."

"Oh?" he asked with a little concern. "On what?"

She smiled devilishly and loosened the tie on her jacket. "Have you been a good boy or…a bad boy?"

~*~*~*~

Sakura stomped into her apartment, slamming the door behind her. Muttering darkly, she tossed her fancy purse at the kitchen table and opened the fridge. Her hand paused, hovering over one of the bottles of beer, before she pulled it back and closed the refrigerator, having decided that the problem at hand required a stiffer drink.

Still angry, she moved on to the cabinet containing her stronger liquor and found what she was looking for: vodka, and a fresh new bottle of it too. Too impatient to even contemplate making something requiring more than ice and vodka, she grabbed the bottle, a glass, and some ice from the freezer. Still fuming, she poured herself a hefty amount, and with drink in hand, she walked out onto her balcony in hopes that the brisk evening air in combination with the vodka would help cool her temper.

Once she was settled comfortably, leaning against the railing of her balcony, Sakura turned her mind to the previous events of the evening. Kakashi had invited her out to dinner – a rarity in and of itself – at one of the fanciest restaurants in the village. She'd gotten out of work early, gone to the salon to have her hair done, and dusted off her nicest dress. And then the rat bastard had stood her up. Knowing about his difficulties with timekeeping, she'd arrived on time – just in case – and waited, and waited, and waited. Two hours later, she'd been approached by a member of the staff – Hokage or no they needed the table. She'd been mortified.

Feeling her cheeks heat once again at the remembered embarrassment, she took a deep swig of her drink, unsure of what she should do. Sakura was certain that, as always, Kakashi would have an excuse – and now that he was Hokage, it might actually be a legitimate one – but she was too angry to let it slide so easily. Fury filled her again and she drained her drink. It wasn't the first time he'd stood her up for Hokage business, but it was the first time he'd done so in such a public place. What really pissed her off was that it wasn't something she'd planned, _he'd_ invited _her_. Why did he bother if he was going to be a no-show?

Though she was angry, a small part of her knew that it was more than likely that some emergency had come up, one Kakashi had been unable to delegate. He would never intentionally stand her up – and probably would head to the restaurant once he was finished. Still, knowing that it probably wasn't his fault did nothing to sooth her hurt and embarrassed feelings. But she knew it was par for the course and that she should just accept an (appropriately extravagant) apology when it came – he was likely to be just as upset as she was about the whole situation.

Grumbling, because she didn't want to let the anger go just yet, she turned to go inside to get a refill on her drink when all of a sudden she sensed a chakra signature (tightly suppressed) behind her. Immediately she dropped her glass to free her hands for a possible confrontation but before she could react further, a blindfold was affixed over her eyes and Sakura found herself being swept off her feet and tossed carefully over a shoulder. Her captor then launched himself from her balcony to a nearby roof and then on into the night.

"Kakashi! What—?" the pink haired medic asked as she recognized the chakra signature. She was too stunned to react any further. "What are you doing?"

"Just taking care of some outstanding business," he responded as he continued on across the rooftops.

She frowned and asked in confusion, "What do you mean by _that_?" Her anger at him for standing her up momentarily forgotten, her mind instead raced, looking for some sort of sound reasoning for Kakashi's seemingly impetuous action.

The older man chuckled. "You'll see."

"Not if I'm blindfolded, I won't! C'mon, _Kakashi_!" she cried while he continued on his way to a destination unknown. When he didn't respond, she huffed in annoyance and settled on silently fuming. She could, at any time, remove the blindfold herself just as she could easily slip from his grasp, but she chose to humor the older man for the time being.

Finally Kakashi slowed to a stop and gently lowered the younger woman from his shoulder, setting her on her feet. A gust of ever-present wind caught at her dress and she shivered. Sensing her discomfort, he moved behind her, opened his robe, pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms and the edges of his robe around her.

"You can remove the blindfold now," he murmured in her ear, reluctant to remove his arms from her.

Cautiously, Sakura lifted her hands to the back of her head to undo the strip of cloth, almost afraid of what she would see. When the blindfold slipped from her eyes, she froze and gasped at the view. They were on top of Hokage Mountain, above the new construction site. The village glittered below them in the clear chilly night air like a box of precious jewels. It was simply stunning.

"It's beautiful," she whispered, forgetting that she was angry at him.

Kakashi smiled, enjoying the moment. "Mmm, yes it is."

They stood together for a few moments enjoying both the view and each other's company.

Finally, Sakura realized that her hands were still hovering behind her neck. A bit stiffly she made a movement to return them to her sides. As she shifted her appendages, something in her peripheral vision caught her attention. A faint out-of-place glimmer from her left hand made her bring the offending hand closer for a better view.

She gasped at the ring now adorning her left ring-finger and was momentarily speechless.

Kakashi couldn't help grinning to himself. It was going better than he had expected, considering he'd been forced to stand her up earlier in the evening.

"Kakashi…what—?" She paused, unable to put words to her thoughts. They'd been together for a while now, long enough for her to give up hopes for some sort of formal confirmation of their relationship from the lazy older man.

He chuckled. "You made me promise on my Icha Icha collection to take care of that last little item on my to-do list."

"B-but…" she stammered, unable to comprehend his simple statement.

"Well," he pulled her a little closer to him, "consider it done."


End file.
